Local News

SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico’s summer monsoon season began with promise but has now ended with disappointing amounts of rainfall across much of the state.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier tells the Santa Fe New Mexican that all the ingredients needed to bring normal summer rains to the state’s mountains and plains just never developed this year. Instead, the main moisture plume stayed to the west in Arizona and California.
The upper elevations in the central and northern mountains had some of the best rains, but the moisture rarely dropped down into the valleys around Santa Fe or Albuquerque. The far western portions of the state fared best, with near normal precipitation.
Most of the state received from 40 percent to 80 percent of the 30-year rolling average, with the statewide average at 60 percent of normal. Through August, the state has endured its fifth-driest year on record.
Saturday marked the autumn equinox, when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal, and also signals a continued dry spell at least into October, Frazier said.
“In Northern New Mexico, the average winter starts in late October,” Frazier said.

The Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities is conducting its regular annual maintenance survey of the natural gas distribution system.
“Every year, as required by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, we walk the gas lines comprising the county’s distribution network, to detect and repair gas leaks of any size,” said Deputy Utilities Manager for Gas, Water and Sewer Timothy Glasco.
The DPU’s contractor, Fitzgerald and Associates can be seen beginning Wednesday in Los Alamos and White Rock as follows: the southern part of Los Alamos town site, (Eastern Area, Western Area, Denver Steel) in White Rock throughout Pajarito Acres, commercial areas and schools. The leak detection survey is slated for completion the week of Oct. 5.
Gas leak detection begins at the customer’s gas meter and then proceeds toward the larger gas lines. If a leak of any size is detected, it is immediately marked for investigation and subsequent remediation by DPU’s Gas Water and Sewer (GWS) field crews.
As always, in the event of a hissing sound or natural gas odor, the DPU reminds citizens to call 311 or 662-8333 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or 5662-8222 after hours.

If things go as planned, the paint truck and the mess created by it should be a memory by late October or early November.

According to Rod Torrez, a public information officer with Bandelier National Monument, the area where a paint truck landed after going off a cliff into the park from N.M. 4 will be cleaned up soon.

“We have already talked to a number of contracting companies about taking it out of here and we’ve just about reached a decision,” Torrez said.

Another big step has already been cleared; getting someone to pay for it. Although it’s not clear yet exactly whose fault the accident was, San Bar, the owner of the truck, has agreed to pay for the damages and cost of the clean-up through its insurance.

According to Torrez, clean-up can’t happen fast enough. The truck, which was carrying about 800 gallons of yellow and white road striping paint when it went over the side of the road, spilled its visually garish cargo all over the side of the mountain, making it look like someone spilled the contents of a giant egg onto the otherwise natural and pristine landscape of Bandelier.

“It’s definitely an eyesore,” Torrez said. “You can see it from the entrance of the park.”

Thousands are gathered at Custer State Park in South Dakota for the annual Buffalo Roundup. The event was created nearly 50 years ago to manage the buffalo herd, and draws spectators from around the world.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexicans can soon start to vote in the general election.

Absentee voting begins Oct. 9, and people can go to their county clerk's office to cast a ballot in person. Voter registration also ends then, making it possible for New Mexicans to register and vote on that same day.

Early voting starts Oct. 20 at alternate polling locations established by the clerks and continues through Nov. 3.

Election Day is Nov. 6 and that's also the deadline for returning absentee ballots.

Four years ago, slightly more than 833,000 people cast ballots in the general election or nearly 70 percent of the state's registered voters.